


Written in the Stars

by unitchiefprentiss



Series: To Build a Home [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-22 23:08:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23001871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unitchiefprentiss/pseuds/unitchiefprentiss
Summary: A very pregnant Emily is growing increasingly anxious to meet her and Andrew's daughter.
Relationships: Andrew Mendoza/Emily Prentiss
Series: To Build a Home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653055
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Written in the Stars

**Mid March 2021**

Emily is so grateful her growing baby is healthy, that everything she’s doing has led her to where she is now. But she is so, so sick of being pregnant she can’t stand it. She’s only at thirty four weeks, and her doctors want her to make it to thirty eight. And she understands that, she wants that, she wants their daughter to be as healthy as she can be by the time she arrives. 

But Emily is exhausted. She’s huge, bloated, in pain, and uncomfortable. 

None of her clothes fit, even the ones she bought from the maternity section. The heartburn from eating literally anything is sometimes unbearable. It takes her almost five minutes to get up from anywhere. 

And she still has four weeks to go. 

When Andrew finds her in their bed, crying in the middle of the day on a Saturday, his heart nearly drops out of his chest. 

“Emily, baby, what’s wrong?” He asks, moving to sit next to her immediately. He takes her hands in his. “Are you okay? Is it the baby?” 

“I’m fine.” Emily says as she wipes her tears away furiously. 

“Baby, you’re crying. What’s wrong?” He asks. 

“Everything!” Emily says as she starts to full body sob. She leans into him, crying on his shoulder and letting him comfort her. 

He just lets her cry, knowing that forcing her to talk about it will only result in upsetting her. He comforts her the best he can until she finally takes a deep breath and looks up at him. 

“I don’t think I’m going to be a good mom.” She says softly. Her voice is so quiet and shaky it doesn’t even sound like her. 

“What?” Andrew asks. “No way. You’re going to be such a good mom, Em.” He assures her, tucking a piece of her hair back behind her ear. 

“I don’t think so.” Emily says, shaking her head. 

“You’re taking such good care of yourself, and I know it’s so hard for you to just rest. But you’re doing it. And you’re so good with Keely, she loves you so much already. If that’s any indication, I know you’re going to be the best Mama our little girl could ask for.” Andrew says. 

Emily sniffles. “No. I’m so miserable right now, all I want is to not be pregnant. I’m sick of it. I hate that I can’t get up by myself, I hate that I can’t be up on my feet for longer than a half hour at a time. I hate that every time I eat I get heartburn. I hate that none of my clothes fit. I just feel so useless!” 

“Hey, hey. Look at me.” Andrew says. Emily looks at him, and the tears in her eyes make him want to cry, too. “First of all, you are not useless. You’re growing a whole person in there, and that’s pretty awesome,” He assures her, causing her to smile a little through her tears before he continues. 

“It’s okay, Emily. It’s okay to feel like that. Your body is going through a complete transformation. And yeah, it’s all for the baby, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be a bad mom for feeling like this. Keely’s mom felt the same way towards the end.” Andrew says. 

“She did?” Emily asks. 

“She did. And I can’t say I know how you feel, I don’t. But you’re doing all of this for our baby. Worrying about whether or not you’re going to be good for her already makes you a good mom.” Andrew says. 

“I’m just afraid that once she’s here, I won’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’ll know what she needs.” Emily says. 

“What do you mean? You read to her every night. You sing to her, you tell her stories. You know exactly what foods make her move around more, which ones she seems to not like as much. You’re so in tune with her already, and she’s not even here yet. I can’t imagine it being any different once she is.” Andrew assures her. 

Emily looks up at him. 

“There’s nobody else in this world I could ever imagine having this baby with.” He says. 

“How are you this perfect?” Emily breathes. 

He smiles. “I’m not.” 

“You always know what to say. I know I get a little ...” 

He says nothing. “I am absolutely not falling for that.” He grins. 

She laughs softly and wipes the few stray tears off her face. “Dramatic. Insane. Whatever.” 

“This pregnancy has been hard on you, whether you want to admit it or not.” He says. “Any fears and anxieties you have are real.” 

Emily doesn’t say anything for a moment. She puts her hand on her stomach. “She’s moving.” 

“See? Even she thinks you’re already a good Mom.” Andrew says. 

She puts his hand on her stomach and lets him feel, and he smiles when he feels a couple of strong kicks. 

“We should name her.” Emily says. 

“We have a list.” Andrew replies, rubbing her stomach gently. 

“I know. But I mean, we gotta name her. I want to have that settled before she comes.” Emily says. 

“Okay. Yeah. Let’s do it.” He smiles, reaching into his pocket to get out his phone. 

He grabs hers as well so she doesn’t have to move, and they sit next to each other in bed. 

“Okay,” Andrew says. “First name: Clara, Hazel, Eloise, Georgina.” 

“Right. Which one do you like the least? On three.” Emily says. “1, 2...3.”

“Georgina.” They say at the same time. 

“Oh. Maybe this will be easier than I thought.” Emily says. 

“Can I veto Eloise?” Andrew asks. 

“Sure. The more I look at it the less cute it is.” Emily shrugs. 

“What’s your favorite name?” Andrew asks. 

“Hazel.” She says easily. “It’s not common, easy to say. It sounds really nice with Keely.” 

“It’s mine too.” Andrew says. 

“Really?” Emily asks. 

“Yes. It’s the first one I suggested to you.” He says. 

“Oh, right. Well, that’s settled. Middle name?” Emily asks. 

“We have: Josephine, Theodora, Cordelia, and Grace after Penelope.” Andrew says. 

Emily smiles. “I love the idea of naming her after Penelope, but I do want her to be her own person. It’s dumb, but I just don’t want her to feel like she has to live up to someone else’s achievements.” 

“That’s not dumb. I get it. I’m extremely partial to Josephine It’s really cute.” He says. 

“I like Theodora.” Emily says. 

“It sounds good too. Either is good. It’s not like we’ll be using it very often.” Andrew tells her. 

“But I want us to agree.” Emily says stubbornly. 

“I do agree. Hazel Theodora Prentiss-Mendoza sounds really beautiful.” 

Emily frowns. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks. 

She sighs. 

“I don’t know if I like her name hyphenated.” Emily tells him. 

“You want to drop the Mendoza?” He asks, genuinely. 

“No.” Emily says. “I think - I think I want her last name to be Mendoza.” 

Andrew smiles. “You do?” 

“Yes. I think she and Keely should have the same last name.” Emily says. 

“If that’s what you want. I’m honored, but I also get it if you want her last name to be Prentiss.” He assures her.

“No, I want her last name to be Mendoza.” 

“Okay. We can agree on that.” He says. 

“Well, that’s settled. But what about her middle name?” Emily asks. 

“Well, we chose the first name I picked first.” Andrew reasons. “Hazel Theodora Mendoza.” He says the name with a smile. 

“It’s perfect.” Emily smiles, placing a hand on her belly. “What do you think, Hazel?” 

She feels a kick. 

“You like it?” 

Another kick. 

“She likes it.” Emily smiles. 

Andrew leans in and kisses her. They sit together for a few moments longer before she breaks the silence. 

“It’s so weird that she can hear in there. Like, she already knows our voices.” Emily says. 

“I think it’s beautiful.” Andrew says. 

“It is. But it’s also weird. I feel every time she moves. And trust me, she’s running out of room.” Emily says. 

“Not much longer.” He says. “Not much longer at all.” 

“To you.” Emily groans. 

“That’s fair. I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.” Andrew says as he gets up to make them lunch. 

“Smart man!” Emily calls behind him.


End file.
